Oil crosses $137 a barrel

Crude oil crossed 137 dollars a barrel yesterday for the first time in New York and London trade, jumping more than nine dollars as the market reacted to a sharp decline in the dollar.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, touched an all-time high of 137.70 dollars a barrel, up 9.91 dollars from Thursday's close.
That far outstripped its previous all-time peak of 135.09 dollars struck on May 22.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for July jumped 9.81 dollars to strike a record high 137.35 dollars a barrel, surpassing its prior record of 135.14, also hit on May 22.
Both futures contracts eased back after hitting the new record peaks.
The dollar slumped after the Labor Department reported the US unemployment rate jumped unexpectedly by a half percentage point to 5.5 percent in May, the steepest increase in more than two decades.
The weakening dollar boosts oil prices because it makes crude relatively cheaper for buyers using other currencies, analysts said.
The US economy shed 49,000 jobs in May, almost twice the number the prior month, marking the fifth monthly consecutive decline, the Labour Department data showed.
Crude oil had soared more than five dollars on Thursday as the market rebounded strongly from losses earlier this week.